


“I miss you.”

by MomentoMori18



Category: Beetlejuice - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet, Dead Mom-Beetlejuice the Musical, Death, F/M, One-Shot, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:55:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23985652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MomentoMori18/pseuds/MomentoMori18
Summary: After another explosive fight with Lydia over mourning her dead mother and her lack of acceptance towards Delia, Charles takes a moment to self-reflect upon himself and allows his heart to freshly open up some faded scars as he finds an all too familiar photo.
Relationships: Charles Deetz/Delia Deetz, Charles Deetz/Emily Deetz, Charles Deetz/Lydia Deetz(Family)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	“I miss you.”

Once again, another fight. What else is new? 

After hearing the all too familiar sound of the door slamming shut, Charles almost immediately felt a wave of regret and nausea wash over him. Inhaling and exhaling sharply in order to keep himself together and not start crying on the spot, he trudged to the master bedroom. He kept trying to push the feelings of guilt down, alongside the added depression that threatened to resurface. Thank heavens that for once, Delia, as much as he loves her, was busy with Otho; something about an art gallery or auction, he can’t remember which at this very moment. 

The door creaked open, like the ghosts of his repressed memories. 

Making his way inside, Charles silently closed the door behind him and locked it, knowing if Lydia caught him in the wrong time, it would all be over. He somewhat walked around, pinching the bridge of his nose as he exhaled once more, this time shakily as he felt the emotions welling up at a faster pace. 

And that was when he saw it, out on the corner of his eye; the picture he always had facing downward on his drawer. He knew exactly what it was, and Delia did too. The first time she found out however, he nearly went ballistic in a sense of defense. But, she understood; she didn’t judge him at all. Though she did encourage words of positivity(ex., “She’s no longer in pain”), and other things to get his mind off of things, like prayers and crystals, she understood in the end and offered his space until he was ready.

That is, he thought he was emotionally ready.

Who knew, after all this time, that despite having moved on and being happy with Delia, that he still missed her?

Charles nearly dragged his feet over, the thunking sounds of his shoes almost comforting as he sat on the bed and grabbed the picture, a melancholic smile on his features as he looked at a vacation picture of himself, a tiny tyke Lydia who seemed no more than five or six, and Emily. There she was, with the same wide smile and blood red lips, with the vintage circular shades that made her look like Ozzy Osborne or like if she belonged with the Beatles. “Heh, she sure took after you Em. She took after you a lot more I feel, especially with you being gone. Sometimes..I wonder about what Delia said; about there being a Heaven and no pain? She’s a bit like you too you know. Eccentric, not caring what people thought of her, having her own strange but charismatic hobbies, you name it. I guess that’s why I fell in love with her too.” 

He spoke as he held the picture, thumb somewhat rubbing over her face in a bittersweet sense of nostalgia. Yep, Emily was a wild card and that was what he remembered; her snarky comebacks, dry sense of humor, having a romance affiliated with gothic architecture and nature, bugs especially, despite them freaking him out to no end. She was almost like something timeless in his eyes, like some actress from a black and white Hollywood film, and this picture only continued to prove his point. It was like she was stuck in time, to a happier place.

But then again, it looked like they all were..weren’t they.

“I remember, you loved the supernatural. You loved horror movies, especially classic ones like Dracula- you always thought it was so romantic. You loved the opera, and debunking obscure myths. Theories, and..when Lydia came into our world, we were scared- or maybe it was just me. But, we took on the challenge together and look where we ended up; I’m sure she doesn’t even know how proud I am of her accomplishments.” Charles continued, his mind opening up while his heart spilled out. This was like his safe space, able to say anything and everything without judgement. The more he reminisced, the more it felt like he was going back in time, reliving the memories himself. He didn’t even know he was already crying as the salty tears streamed down his cheeks, only until he noticed the drops on the photo and on his trousers, quickly brushing them away as he cleared his throat. 

“..She still misses you, you know. And I don’t know what to do. I thought she’d be done with her mourning, I thought she would’ve been able to see what I saw in Delia. What I saw in you, in her eyes.” Charles admitted to none other than himself, sighing as he noticed his eyes still stung a little from the tears. “She has your same spark- granted, different interests, but the way she carries herself and her passions? Exactly like you. Just when I thought I also couldn’t move on, she came into my life. I wonder if you were the one who pointed her my way Em. But if you did, I just want to thank you. I only hope that somehow, some way, you can reach out to Lydia too. She could use that right now I think.” 

Charles chuckled somewhat bitterly, but felt his heart swell with a melancholic and bittersweet sense of comfort from this. Like if he was feeling better after just..pouring his thoughts out, something he didn’t always do. The bed faintly creaked as he got up, placing the picture back on the bedside drawer, contemplating this time if he should have it face down again. He stared at the photo a little more, thinking about it still till he felt the faintest ghost of a smile creep on his face, leaving the timeless photo up this time. Just because he moved on, doesn’t mean the memories should be shoved away as he left the empty room, leaving the door slightly ajar as he made his way down the hall, ready to go and comfort his dear Lydia.

Their Lydia.


End file.
